Pineapple mine



April 1968 J. PELSZYNSKI 3,376,815

PINEAPPLE MINE Filed Sept. 9, 1965 FIG. 1 6b +24 38 I3 39 NJ '2 I ,/'23[5 INVENTOR. John Pelszynski BY Attorney United States Patent ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A mine with a spring-actuated arming device comprisinga governor-controlled gearing rotating a screw threaded into a safetylatch and moving it to a disengaged position with respect to the firingpins.

The pineapple mine because of its adaptability and special constructionwill serve as a defense in difiicult areas and since it is not visiblewill be a silent sentinel ever on guard.

Its primary function is aimed for use in dense shrubbery, forests andjungles. It will, however, produce good results in other areas, too.

- The pineapple mine is very sensitive. The slightest pull or movementproduces an explosion. It is very effective because it scatters piecesin every direction. The force of the explosion causes the fragments totravel as much as 80-100 feet in all directions.

The pineapple mine emits a loud explosive noise and with it disbursesmany sharp fragments of varied sizes which in turn can produce painfulcuts-or even be fatal. They definitely prevent the recipient of suchinjuries from carrying on further combat.

The pineapple mine is so easily and so well concealed that its almostimpossible to spy. It can be put alongside roads or areaways, or set upat a given height in trees-and can be masked to blend in withsurroundings. It can be suspended at will, with its steel links finishedin the color of surrounding leaves or grassmaking it impossible to find.The lines are hung at random with some slack so there will be no pull onthem because once the safety catch is released they are set"for theirspecific function-and if this slack were not allowed an explosionwouldbe inevitable.

The ends of the steel links are fitted with small anchors which are thenattached to a given object, and in the event it appears necessary,additional anchors are sus pended, so that as the adversary passes thesewill hook into his clothing or equipment, causing a tug or pull on themine, activating the explosive. 'The number of anchors used depends onthe size of the area to be seeded.

The mine, when properly laid out, cannot be disconnected and so cannotbe thwarted.

It can only be inactivated by direct gunfire from a safe distance,because of the sharp fragments which come forth once it is activated. Itis verydangerous to do this. There is no safe or sure way toinactivate'the mine once it is set up. a a

The mines should not be set near each other because the detonation ofone could set off a chain reaction. If it becomes necessary to sow themclose to each other then it should be remembered to have a large tree orobject separating them. The tree or other object would then act as abackstop for the flying fragments or possibly divert them toward thenearest mine.

The pineapple mine is not activated by small brush or forest fires. Itcan withstand a great deal of heat so even after a forest or brush fireit is still potent.

The mine can be set up at thoroughfares without the use of lines. Whenused this way it does not block passage and can even be used in smallrivers.

When transporting the mines its important, in spite of the safetydevice, to transport only unassembled mines, that is, the activator andits mechanism should be separated, also all other sections. Assembly ofthe mine should be done on the site where it is to be used inasmuch asextreme caution is necessary. Once the mine is set up the safety pin isremoved and the mine should be abandoned because within just a matter ofseconds it is wholly potent.

Drawings attached will show more detail of structure and completeworkings of the mine.

FIGURE 1 shows pineapple mine completely assembled, in scale lrl,lengthwise through the center.

FIGURE 2. View from top of needle resistor with hollow roller andplacement of needles in activator on resistor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Steel cylinder or t igger 1 is made from asingle piece of steel. The segment of the roller which is fastened tothe upper portion of the release mechanism is constructed in the form ofa round bullet covered with a layer of copper similar to theconstruction of an ordinary bullet. On the exposed or bullet-likesection the roller rotates or moves in every direction. The copper cupwhich holds the unit prevents it from striking the roller. The bottomsection of the roller serves to lower the fuse needles. Inside thecylinder-near the sideis located the safety catch of the mine. The upperportion of the cylinder holds the blades or spikes which are eventuallyreleased.

Numeral 2 is a concave bullet-like cup made of copper which in turnmakes possible the constant motion or quiver of the cylinder.

Numeral 3 indicates a safety lock which prevents accidental release ofblades, or spikes.

A hollowed area is lined with heavy grease 4 to prevent water ormoisture of any kind from seeping into the small cup-like copperholders.

The lower portion of element 1 has a thicker section 5 which holdsblades-or spikesprior to release.

Safety pin 6 is constructed of shatterproof steel,

threaded from top to bottom, for easy removal and to prevent any shredsor pieces from entering the mechanism of the discharge unit.

Lower portion of concave is interwoven so as to brake the mechanism ofthe mine and prevent accidental release of safety pin.

Round steel pellet 6a covers opening left after safety pin has beenpulledand not only prevents water from entering the unit but also makesrenewed immunity impossible.

6B.Screw with spiral spring-irnpels shot to opening after removal ofsafety pin 7.Thread of safety catch 8.-'-Catch serving to unscrew andremove safety pin 9.Safety clasp serving to hold pin immobilized so thatit wont twist out 10.Unit which holds back activator head, not allowingblades to be released 11.--Head of blade fuse unit which serves tointercept blades released by tensioned spring, from the lowering unit itis fiat 12.Counterpart serving to intercept tensioned blades 13.Bladehousing of fuse or activator 13A.Blade section of activator shownflat-not permitting circulation of blade unit housing to revolve, whichguarantees fast release of blades. There is a total of 5 blades (orspikes) around the hollow roller 14.Tensioned spiral spring of thespiked area 15.Counterpart of upper spring built to encompass spring16.Counterpart of lower spring built in arm of blade housing 17.-Finallower unit of blade head with sharp peak which causes percussion cap tobe released and explodes activated unit 18.Thread for screwing inpercussion cap with fuse 19.-Percussion cap of fuse 20.Mine fuse21.Sulphur which causes instant explosion 22.-Very powerful ordinaryexplosive which causes instant explosion 23.Mine covering. Mode ofshatter type steel which explodes into many sharp pieces after explosion24.Spikes (or blades) of fuse head built of shatter type steel. Thespikes (or blades) encircle the mine. The outer side of the protectiveblades is painted or colored to blend in with current surroundings orterrain, which retards discovery of the mine even without camouflage ofshrubs, twigs, or foliage. The blades (or spikes) can be placed invaried shapes or forms of leaves, etc.

25.-Steel lines are fastened to the blades of the housing (covering) andserve as security for extending to greater distance of lines dependingon needs. The lines are built of steel or copper and must be strongenough. Small anchors are attached to the ends.

26.--Additional spikes which serve the same purpose as those in lowersection 27 .Ear of anchor used to join lines 28.-Anchor used to joinlines when setting up mine 29.-Upper portion closeting fuse mechanism30.--Lower portion closeting fuse mechanism 31.Flat spring cylinderequipped in inner manner at base of cylinder 32.Flat spring hook locatedin inner cylinder 33.Flat spring hook on outer covering of fuse 34.Flatspring, not wound, serving to activate mechanism which controls releaseof mine 35.Gear (or cog) of cylinder spring hown inside cylinder) 36.Cogcontrolling gradual mine release 37.Small drum (tympanum) equipped withflat elongated springs, with seeded rivets attached to control andregulate rotation so that mine release occurs gradually 38.Axle withfine thread placed on gear of safety bolt serving to remove cylinderhousing blades (or spikes) before release 39.Cylinder protecting headsof spikes in fuse before lowering for discharge (or explosion)40.Cylinder conveyor protecting spikes. Serves as guide to progressiverelease to top. In place of this one can also use a gear (or cog) withthreaded axle, serving to reach the cylinder conveyor 41.-Opening ingear serving to safeguard mine 42.Construction of lower portion of fusecontainer 43.Thread uniting combustion unit with mine 44.-Spring tripserving to immobilize and prevent unscrewing of fuse from mine housing45.-Metal trap which prevents removal of blade or picket 46.--Flatspring holding back metal trap 47.Metal picket used in placing mine.Size or length depends on need. In areas with hard soil a shorter picketis used. For softer or sandier soil a longer one is used 48.Links areused to suspend the mine in trees and prevent pulling the mine out ofthe ground once it is lodged there thus making it impossible toinactivate 49.Opening for screwing in fuse.

Details of second figure:

60.-Counterpart of activator blades (or spikes) 61.-Blade heads andtheir placement on counterpart 62.-Metal band loosely encircled foreasier lowering of spikes 4 63.-Conduit-pipe of cylinder used to lowerfuse-head blades.

OPERATION OF THE DEVICE The device may best be described in itsoperation. Assuming that the device is disarmed, that is with the partsin the pos tion of FIGURE 1, to arm the mine after it has beenappropriately set up, the pin 6 is withdrawn whereupon the pellet 6a ispropelled and rolls into the aperture from which the pin 6 has beenwithdrawn. The pellet closes this aperture to prevent the entry ofmoisture into the body of the mine.

Immediately upon removal of the safety pin 6, the spiral spring 34uncoils and drives the ring gear 35 which in turn drives the gear train36 which is controlled by governor 36 to run at a predetermined speed.The gearing 36 rotates the threaded shaft 38 which is threaded into thesafety cath cylinder 39. The cylindersurrounds the heads of pins 13which are biased to be driven into the percussion cap 19 by the spring14. The heads of the pin 13 normally rest upon the upper portion 12.Threading of the Shaft 38 into the cylinder 39 clears the cylinder fromthe heads of the pins. The mine is thus armed. Any angular motion of theelement 4 about the universal connection 2 displaces the end 5 whichsweeps the heads of pins 13 off the catch 12 and thus causes the pins 13to strike the cap 19 which fires the detonator 29 and thus causes thesubstance 22 to explode and shatter the casing 23 in a shrapnel effect.

I claim:

1. An explosive device comprising a casing with explosive therein,triggering means, means for firing the explosive coupled to saidtriggering means, and means for arming the device comprising a governorcontrolled spring-actuated power train, safety means operativelyinterposed to said firing means for preventing accidental actuationthereof, and means operatively connecting said safety means with saidmeans for arming said device for operation thereby upon actuation ofsaid arming means to move said safety means to disassociated positionwith respect to said firing means to permit operation thereof uponactuation of the triggering means and said power train including aspring means, a gear driven by said spring means, a gear assembly drivenby said gear, a governor driven by said gear assembly, a rotary threadedmember driven by said assembly and threaded into said safety means andoperative to move the same to said disassociated position consequent tosaid member threading thereinto.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and said member comprising acylindrical structure encompassing said inner end portion of saidelement and said pins and said holding means in the unarmed condition ofsaid device.

3. The invention according to claim 1 and said spring means comprising aspiral spring having one end anchored to the casing and the other enddrivingly connected to said gear disposed therein.

4. The invention according to claim 3 and said gear being hollow andadmitting said triggering means therethrough. I

5. The invention according to claim 4 and said triggering meanscomprising a universally mounted element on the casing and said safetypin extending through said triggering element and interlocked with saidgear means and preventing canting of said element.

6. The invention according to claim 5 and the universal mountingcomprising a ball joint.

7. The invention according to claim 6 and said casing comprising a stakefor spearing the device into the ground.

8. An explosive device comprising a casing with explosive therein,triggering means, means for firing the explosive coupled to saidtriggering means, and means for arming the device comprising a governorcontrolled spring-actuated power train, safety means operativelyinterposed to said firing means for preventing accidental actuationthereof, and means operatively connecting said safety means with saidmeans for arming said device for operation thereby upon actuation ofsaid arming means to move said safety means to disassociated positionwith respect to said firing means to permit operation thereof 5 saiddevice, and a spring loaded plug communicating with 1 said opening andmovable thereinto upon said pin being removed.

References Cited UNETED STATES PATENTS 2,826,990 3/1958 Gross 10282,830,538 4/1958 Dodge 102.-8 3,249,051 5/1966 Kaiser 10271 1,682,5608/1928 Gruber 102-8 1,330,424 2/ 1920 Bergman 102-83 0 SAMUEL W. ENGLE,Primary Examiner.

